Some investors are averse to gold because, as Warren Buffett argues, it is an unproductive asset. Whereas equities and property can be useful and provide a return, gold “doesn’t do anything but sit there” and consequently has little inherent value, from Buffett’s point of view. The World Gold Council, however, says investment demand for gold exceeded 1,500 tonnes in 2016. As well as being the second-best year on record for inflows to gold exchange-traded funds (ETFs), sales of coins and bars alsWednesday, December 13, 2017

GOLD PRICES rallied $10 per ounce from yesterday's fresh 5-month lows against the Dollar in Asian trade Wednesday, only to lose half that bounce in London as traders looked to today's key US monetary policy decision from the Federal Reserve.
With US inflation data due later on Wednesday, just before the US Fed's widely-expected quarter-point hike to interest rates, new data this morning put Germany's consumer-price index 1.8% higher in November Wednesday, December 13, 2017

The debate continues between the SRSrocco Report and CPM Group’s Jeff Christian on the fundamentals of the silver market. After my article, in which I questioned the CPM Group’s exclusion of silver investment demand from their supply and demand analysis, Jeff Christian responded with a comment on my website. I am glad that Mr. Christian responded because it now allows me the opportunity to explain in more detail why I disagree with the CPM Group’s analysis.As I have mentioned before, this has Tuesday, December 12, 2017

SPOT GOLD prices failed to hold a 0.4% overnight rally from new 5-month lows in London on Tuesday, slipping back as world stock markets rose again ahead of tomorrow's key US Fed decision on Dollar interest rates amid worsening tensions in the Middle East.
Edging back towards $1241 per ounce today, the price of gold bullion for immediate delivery has now halved the 16% gains for 2017 reached at early September's 12-month peak.
Tuesday, December 12, 2017

It was two years ago this week that I proclaimed that we were witnessing the final lows in the 2011–2015 bear market in the precious metals as gold traded down to $1,045 amidst total capitulation by the Large Specs and after massive short-covering by the Commercial traders. The weekly COT for that week showed an aggregate short position of a miniscule 2,911 contracts down from the earlier highs of over 300,000 contracts. About six weeks later, despite the earlier bottom in gold, the HUI (NYSE ArTuesday, December 12, 2017

Technical analyst Jack Chan charts the latest movements in the gold and silver markets.
Our proprietary cycle indicator is down.
The gold sector is on a long-term buy signal. Long-term signals can last for months and years and are more suitable for investors holding for long term.
The gold sector is on a short-term sell signal. Short-term signals can last for days and weeks, and are more suitable for traders.
Open interests have dropped drasticMonday, December 11, 2017

A meme we have seen in the bitcoin community seems to be gaining traction. Bitcoin is deflationary. That is prices of things, measured in bitcoin, are falling. For example, in spring 2011, gasoline was Ƀ1.00. This week, that same gallon had fallen to Ƀ0.0001875. Gas has gone down by 99.98 percent!
We don’t think that even the diehard bitcoin bugs really believe this.
But it leads to an interesting point. In the past, we have used the analogy of measuring a steel meter stick with stretchy rubber Monday, December 11, 2017

By Olga Kharif
Bloomberg News
Saturday, December 9, 2017
Cameron Winklevoss, thought to be one of the largest holders of bitcoin, thinks the cryptocurrency's blazing gains this year are just the start. He predicts it will rise as much as 20-fold as investors come to view it as an upgrade to gold.
Wall Street's plan to launch futures contracts on Sunday, making it easier to bet against the digital currency's rally in recent months, is making some enthusiasts nervous -- but not Winklevoss. He's onMonday, December 11, 2017

We get the same question every time we release a new proprietary GoldSilver product: why should I buy your silver round instead of a standard bullion product like an Eagle?There are several answers to that question—they can be a great way to diversify, they’re unique in the marketplace, and they might reflect values that you share.But the biggest answer of all is this: because you might make a bigger profit.That’s a bold statement, because like most things in life, there are no guarantees. But oMonday, December 11, 2017

* * *
Bitcoin Flirts with $16,000, Alarm Bells Ring Louder
By Jemima Kelly and Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss
Reuters
Thursday, December 7, 2017
Bitcoin rocketed to a lifetime high just shy of $16,000 today after climbing some 60 percent over one week, intensifying the debate about whether the cryptocurrency is in a bubble about to burst.
The largest U.S. cryptocurrency exchange struggled to keep up with record traffic as the price surged, with an upcoming launch of the first bitcoin futures contract Sunday, December 10, 2017

GOLD and SILVER prices steadied above 5-month lows versus the US Dollar in London trade Friday, rallying into the weekend as global stock markets rose.
The
EuroStoxx 50 index of Europe's largest corporations added 1.8% for the week.
Commodities edged higher but major government bond prices slipped further from Thursday's drop, when gold fell to its lowest since early July at $1244 pFriday, December 8, 2017

If Bitcoin really is like gold, watch out...!
NEW YEAR's DAY 1975 marked a huge turn in the gold market,
writes Adrian Ash at BullionVault.
Forty years after banning it, the US government at last let private citizens own bullion.
Coin shops and banks knew how big this was. So they raced to stock up as 1974 ended.
Friday, December 8, 2017

Bitcoin’s meteoric skyrocketing this year has been astonishing,
captivating traders across the globe. This once-obscure
cryptocurrency has exploded into the world’s hottest market. With
fortunes being won on paper, everyone is talking about bitcoin. But
with its price shooting parabolic, unfortunately this wild ride has
all the hallmarks of a classic popular speculative mania. And those
all end badly, totally collapsing.
In
the annals of financial-market historFriday, December 8, 2017

There is a Disinformation War taking place in the silver market as certain industry analysis is confusing individuals by purposely disregarding the tremendous impact of rising investment demand. Not only do I find this troubling, but I am also quite surprised how much the silver industry pays attention to this faulty analysis. So, it’s time once again to set the record straight.Setting the record straight has now become a new mission for me at the SRSrocco Report because the amount of disinforFriday, December 8, 2017

We know our readers invest in precious metals in various ways. One way is through ETFs. If you are one of these investors, pay taxes to the U.S., and are holding onto any positions with a loss since the time you bought, here’s a heads-up: if you act by December 31, you can capture that loss on your taxes without losing your exposure to metals.The “wash sale” rule was designed to discourage people from selling securities at a loss simply to claim a tax benefit. Section 1091 of the U.S. Tax Code dFriday, December 8, 2017

GOLD BARS rallied from yesterday's 9-week low in Asian and London trade Tuesday as global equities slipped with commodity prices amid rising tensions over Washington's policies in both the Middle East and towards rogue state North Korea.
A Chinese state-run newspaper today gave readers near the border with North Korea a page of
"common sense" advice for the event of a nuclear strike.
Wednesday, December 6, 2017

– Increased efforts in green energy and advanced technology set to boosts silver’s demand
– Four-year supply deficit set to increase due to fewer mine openings and discoveries
– Bank manipulation may be why silver under performing
– TD Securities and the Bank of Montreal expect silver to be best performing precious metal in 2018
– Growing industrial demand combined with monetary safe haven makes silver an excellent diversifier
The beauty of silver is its dual role. It is both a monetary metal aWednesday, December 6, 2017

Technical analyst Jack Chan charts the latest moves in the gold and silver markets, as well as the one-day fluctuations of a gold major.
Our proprietary cycle indicator is down.
The gold sector is on a long-term buy signal. Long-term signals can last for months and years and are more suitable for investors holding for long term.
Gold sector is on a short term buy signal. Short term signals can last for days and weeks, and are more suitable for tradTuesday, December 5, 2017

A reader emailed us, to ask a few pointed questions.
Paraphrasing, they are:
Who cares if dollars are calculated in gold or gold is calculated in dollars? People care only if their purchasing power has grown.
What is the basis good for? Is it just mathematical play for gold theorists? How does knowing the basis help your readers? Is it just a theoretical explanation of what has already happened?
Prove that if someone has known the basis for the last four years, he has benefitted.
He also addedMonday, December 4, 2017